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Here’s the new ThinkPad X1 Extreme. | Photo by Monica Chin / The Verge Lenovo has dumped a whole bunch of new ThinkPads into the world, and there’s some exciting stuff in there. We’re getting a brand-new ThinkPad X13s powered by Snapdragon chips, a fifth-generation ThinkPad X1 Extreme with a WQXGA 165Hz screen option, and new additions to the P-series and T-series as well. The news I’m personally most excited about is the screen shape. A few months ago, Lenovo told me that much of its portfolio would be moving to the 16:10 aspect ratio this year. They appear to be keeping their word. Across the board, the new models are 16:10 — taller and roomier than they were in their 16:9 eras. Some news that’s a bit more... intriguing is the all-new ThinkPad X13s, which is the first laptop to feature the Snapdragon 8cx... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/jNJd8z5

Later this year, you can snag the 16-inch model with either AMD or Intel processors. | Lenovo Lenovo has made some hefty updates to its mid-range IdeaPad Gaming 3 lineup for 2022, which includes two Intel 12th Gen- and two AMD Ryzen 6000-series-equipped models, each with a 15.6-inch and 16-inch option. Notably, the 16-inch option for either CPU you opt for has a 16:10 aspect ratio display with the option to go up to 2560 x 1600, like the Legion 5 Pro , which is more desirable because it offers more vertical space for browsing, gaming, or anything else you want to do on a PC. The only thing they’re not particularly great for is watching movies or TV shows, which are traditionally presented in 16:9 aspect ratio. Despite each of these IdeaPad Gaming 3 laptops looking the same across CPU options, the specs differ in some ways... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/LnDw508

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Facebook has blocked access to a number of accounts in Ukraine, some of which are associated with Russian state-backed media outlets. It’s also reviewing other governments’ requests to restrict access to these accounts in their countries. We have been in contact with the Government of Ukraine, and at their request we have also restricted access to several accounts in Ukraine, including those belonging to some Russian state media organizations. — Nick Clegg (@nickclegg) February 27, 2022 “We have been in contact with the Government of Ukraine, and at their request we have also restricted access to several accounts in Ukraine, including those belonging to some Russian state media organizations,” Nick Clegg, the vice president of global... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/e0viFYu

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Apple may be working on a device with a 20-inch foldable display, which Apple tracker Mark Gurman describes as an “iPad / MacBook hybrid” in Bloomberg ’s Power On newsletter . It’s not expected until 2026 Gurman says that Apple is, indeed, exploring the possibility of a folding device of the sort, backing up the claims of Ross Young, the CEO and analyst at Display Supply Chain Consultants. Last week, Young brought attention to Apple’s supposed plans to develop a device with a large, folding screen, and Gurman has added some more depth to this rumor. Gurman claims the device will feature a dual-screen display that omits a physical keyboard and trackpad — navigating and typing on the device will be entirely touchscreen-based. In terms of a... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/LQkCqN7

Von der Leyen announced a ban on the state-backed RT and Sputnik networks in the EU . | Photo by STEPHANIE LECOCQ/POOL/AFP via Getty Images European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Twitter that the European Union will ban Russian state-run media outlets from airing in the EU, as well as bar Russian aircraft from flying in EU airspace. Second, we will ban the Kremlin’s media machine in the EU. The state-owned Russia Today and Sputnik, and their subsidiaries, will no longer be able to spread their lies to justify Putin’s war. We are developing tools to ban their toxic and harmful disinformation in Europe. pic.twitter.com/7RcPEn6E14 — Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) February 27, 2022 Von der Leyen states that RT and Sputnik — both state-backed Russian networks — along with their subsidies “will no longer be able to spread their lies to justify... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/odq4YDH

Here’s the Galaxy Book 2 Pro. Samsung has announced two updates to its premium Galaxy Book line: the Galaxy Book 2 Pro and Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360. The devices will start at $1,049.99 and $1,249.99 respectively; they hit shelves on April 1st with preorders beginning on March 18th. A budget-oriented Galaxy Book 2 360, a convertible version of the regular Galaxy Book , will also ship April 1st with a starting price of $899.99. Both Pro models come in 13.3-inch and 15.6-inch sizes, while the regular Book 2 360 is only a 13.3. As you can probably guess from the names, the Galaxy Book 2 Pro is a clamshell while the Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 is a 2-in-1 convertible with a touchscreen and S Pen support. Here’s the Galaxy Book 2 Pro’s keyboard, which is backlit... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/sbXoWl2

Anika Molnar/BBCA Sandra Oh finally has something to do Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/FVatUku

Roscosmos will withdraw all 87 employees from the Guiana Space Centre. | Photo by Sergei Savostyanov\TASS via Getty Images Russian space agency Roscosmos has announced that it’s temporarily halting Soyuz rocket launches in French Guiana due to sanctions imposed by the European Union, according to a report by Space.com . “Roscosmos is suspending cooperation with European partners in organizing space launches from the Kourou Cosmodrome and withdrawing its personnel, including the consolidated launch crew, from French Guiana,” a translated tweet from the agency reads on Twitter. Roscosmos says it’s working on a plan to withdraw all 87 of its staff from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, who assisted with Soyuz rocket launches for Roscosmos and other Russian companies. ⚡ «В ответ на санкции Евросоюза в отношении наших предприятий Роскосмос приостанавливает... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/J8AhsOw

Photo by Stanislav Krasilnikov\TASS via Getty Images A coalition of NATO-aligned countries has committed to new measures meant to sever Russia from the global financial system, countries announced in a joint letter today . The letter, signed by the United States, UK, Canada, and European allies, lays out new measures to isolate Russia’s central bank, and announces a new trans-Atlantic task force to freeze the foreign assets of sanctioned individuals. In a dramatic escalation, the order also blocks select Russian banks from using SWIFT — the international payment system employed by banks to send money around the world. SWIFT, which stands for The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, is a cooperative company based in Belgium, whose owners include many of Europe’s... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/TgfzHmF

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge YouTube is blocking state-backed Russian media outlets from advertising and earning money on the platform, as first reported by Reuters . As Russian troops continue to invade Ukraine, YouTube told Reuters it’s “pausing a number of channels’ ability to monetize on YouTube, including several Russian channels affiliated with recent sanctions.” RT will be restricted in Ukraine due to “a government request” YouTube spokesperson Farshad Shadloo told Reuters that YouTube will recommend Russian state-run media to users less often. Some of these channels — including RT — will also be restricted in Ukraine due to “a government request,” potentially in response to Ukraine digital minister Mykhailo Fedorov’s call for YouTube to block Russian... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/FOT8X67

Illustration by James Bareham / The Verge More than $15 million has been donated so far Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/KkCWlgT

Financial sanctions from several countries bar some card payments through Google Pay and Apple Pay. | Photo By Lea Suzuki/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images Customers at a number of banks in Russia can no longer use their bank cards with Google Pay and Apple Pay due to newly-imposed financial sanctions on the country, as reported by Insider . According to a press release from Russia’s Central Bank , affected financial institutions include VTB Group, Sovcombank, Novikombank, Promsvyazbank, and Otkritie FC Bank. Sanctions issued by the EU target 70 percent of Russia’s banking network While customers can still use bank cards from these institutions within Russia, they’ll no longer work abroad or when making online payments to stores and services belonging to countries that issued sanctions on Russia. This also includes card payments through Apple Pay and Google Pay, although the Central Bank says... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/lw04Kto

I just put up a 4,000-word review of Valve’s Steam Deck portable gaming PC , which just went on sale to the first batch of early adopters today. But the company had a surprise announcement too — Aperture Desk Job , a new bite-size experience set in the Portal universe that’ll be a free download March 1st. It’s designed to introduce new Steam Deck buyers to the handheld’s incredible array of controls, and it involves... toilets and chairs. Assuming you’re not already halfway through the video teaser atop this post, here’s how Valve tries to thread the needle between our rampant desire for Valve to remember how to count to three and the potential disappointment that Valve has not yet managed that feat: Aperture Desk Job reimagines the... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/MgoafpU

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Meta has reportedly broken up the around 300-person team tasked with working on an OS for AR and VR headsets, moving some of the engineers to teams working on AR glasses and Oculus ( er, Quest ) headsets, according to a report by The Information . This comes after recent reports — which Meta denied at the time — that the company had halted work on the team’s project creating a unified custom operating system for its VR and AR headsets. In January, reports surfaced that Meta canceled the “XROS” project the team was working on (XR is a term used to refer to both augmented and virtual reality). After the reports came out, Reality Labs Vice President Gabriel Aul tweeted that the company was “growing this team, not shrinking it,” and included a... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/sihewko

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Discord is overhauling its policies and community guidelines to tackle health misinformation, off-platform behavior, and hate speech, the company announced on Friday. It’s the first big policy update for Discord in nearly two years and is designed to target groups or individuals that participate in organized violence, spread harmful anti-vaccination material, or harass other Discord users with hate speech. After two years of a pandemic, Discord is making its policies more clear about health misinformation. In new community guidelines, which go into effect on March 28th, Discord says users “may not share false or misleading information on Discord that is likely to cause physical or societal harm.” This includes content that could result... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/XBiKkmR

Early access memories Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/SAuCPTk

Razer’s BlackWidow V3 Mini Hyperspeed is just $120 today, its lowest price to date. | Image: Razer The first Razer keyboard to feature a 65 percent layout is also wireless. The Razer BlackWidow V3 Mini Hyperspeed is usually available for $179.99, but it can currently be found at both Amazon and Best Buy for just $119.99. This discount currently matches the lowest price we’ve ever seen for this keyboard. The BlackWidow V3 Mini nixes the function row, number pad, and a few of the less popular keys for a board that takes up a bare minimum of space while retaining as much functionality as possible. The keyboard can pair with devices via Bluetooth or wireless 2.4GHz and can last for up to 200 hours on a single charge. It also uses a detachable USB-C connection that allows you to top the battery off quickly and uses custom cable mods too. ... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/Hi7KbxN

Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge Late Wednesday night, Russian troops invaded Ukrainian territories across the country’s northern, southern, and eastern borders, kicking off the largest troop mobilization in Europe in a generation. As Russian media attempts to cast the invasion as a response to Ukrainian aggression , on-the-ground reporting has played a crucial role in countering the propaganda, with footage coming from both professional journalists and amateurs on social media. But as the conflict intensifies, many civil society groups are increasingly concerned about the possibility of direct attacks on the country’s internet infrastructure. Russia has previously been linked to DDoS attacks against Ukrainian government sites — but a full blackout would mean going... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/Q6iYNT8

Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge Microsoft is making the Windows 11 taskbar a little more tablet-friendly soon. The software giant has started testing a new taskbar that’s designed for tablet use, with a smaller collapsed state that only shows critical information like the time and date or network and battery status. This tablet taskbar looks a lot less cluttered, thanks to app icons, search, Widgets, and the Start button being hidden. A new setting will automatically hide the taskbar when you’re using a device as a tablet, and it will provide more screen space for Windows 11 tablet users. If you wipe up to reveal the full taskbar, the widgets, Start button, search, and app icons are all a lot larger and easier to touch. Image: Microsoft Windows... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/L6wMhp7

Logitech’s budget-friendly G435 boasts color and comfort, as well as a host of solid features. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge A good gaming headset is practically a necessity these days. Clean and precise audio is essential for competitive gaming, allowing you not just to pinpoint your enemies, but communicate effectively with your teammates. Moreover, recent developments in spatial audio and virtual surround sound have allowed headsets to meet — and occasionally surpass — more expensive audio setups, allowing even the most budget-conscious gamer to obtain a competitive edge at a fraction of the price. While you could always invest in a massive pair of speakers, they’re likely to earn you the dubious distinction of the worst roommate of the decade. Thankfully, the right headset will allow you to keep the running and gunning to yourself, which is why we’ve... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/Mj14rYD

With dual cameras and dual motion detection, this camera catches it all — just not fast enough Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/XDBZ1TR

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Tumblr announced today that users can opt out of ads (on the desktop and in its mobile apps) by paying $4.99 per month or purchasing a year of ad-free browsing at a discount for $39.99. Image: Tumblr That means long-time posters can go back to the way things were before Yahoo bought Tumblr in 2013 for $1.1 billion , before Tumblr banned porn and lost a massive chunk of its audience, and before Verizon sold Tumblr to WordPress owner Automattic Inc. for a tiny fraction of its original price. Founder David Karp was opposed to allowing advertising, and once the company bent on that principle , it’s been plagued by tacky, cheap-looking advertisements that seemed to flood the feed and often make little to no sense. But now,... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/aMlXTm2

Finally. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Following a brief appearance in January , Sony is officially bringing the ability to have your PS5 screenshots and videos auto-uploaded to the PlayStation mobile app to more countries. Sony began testing the feature in Canada and Japan in October . The expanded rollout, which Sony stresses is a gradual one, will start first with the Americas, the company says. On a support page , Sony lists the following as “supported countries”: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the US, and Uruguay. The feature will come to more countries “next month,” the company says in a tweet . If the feature is enabled, media captured from your PS5 will be... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/Ww6JGq7

The United States Postal Service authorized the replacement of its mail truck fleet with nearly all gasoline-powered vehicles, rejecting a plea from President Joe Biden to include more electric vehicles in its purchase. The move, which was announced Wednesday, signals the independent agency’s decision to move forward with a controversial plan to purchase 165,000 next-generation mail trucks, only 10 percent of which will be battery-electric vehicles (BEV) . The USPS determined there was no legal reason to delay its plans. “the process needs to keep moving forward” In a statement , Postmaster Louis DeJoy said the agency would consider adding more EVs to its fleet sometime in the future. “[W]e will continue to pursue the acquisition of... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/23xZuh4

Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images Today, let’s talk about some of the less obvious ways that conservative social networks keep slipping up — and whether Truth Social, which has the backing of President Trump, can manage to avoid their fate. First, the news: Truth Social is live in the App Store, and hit No. 1 this week on the most-downloaded chart for iOS. Here are Bryan Pietsch and Jeff Stein in the Washington Post : The app says it is “America’s ‘Big Tent’ social media platform that encourages an open, free, and honest global conversation without discriminating against political ideology.” It was released in the App Store over the weekend and was updated late Sunday for “bug fixes.” (Truth Social’s website says it will be in the Google Play Store soon.) […] Users... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/WZOz71R

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Waymo is allowed to keep some of its autonomous vehicle safety data secret after a California court ruled in the Alphabet company’s favor in a lawsuit filed against the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles ( via TechCrunch ). Last month, Waymo sued the DMV to block a public records request from an unidentified party seeking Waymo’s application for a permit to operate driverless cars on public roads. The company argued that the information being sought was a trade secret and that being forced to reveal it would put the company at a competitive disadvantage. The case zeroes in on a tension that’s brewing within the AV industry between a desire to keep information secret from rival companies and the need to earn the public’s trust through... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/0E3vZdz

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Twitch is implementing a new initiative that could alleviate one of the biggest stressors of content creation: unreliable income. The Ad Incentive Program, or AIP, is a new program that will pay select streamers a guaranteed monthly minimum amount of ad revenue. Qualified affiliate or partner streamers will receive a notification from Twitch offering them different payouts based on the amount of ads run per hour and total hours streamed. In the example Twitch provided, if a creator streamed for at least 40 hours that month, they could receive $100 for running two minutes of ads per hour, $300 for three minutes, or $500 for four minutes. An example of what the AIP payouts could look like. In addition to these tiered... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/kcTpsqV

Netflix is testing Fast Laughs on TVs in select English-speaking countries . | Image by Netflix Netflix is testing Fast Laughs, a stream of comedy clips hand-picked by Netflix, on its TV app. The feature lets you sift through a collection of funny short videos — each about 30 seconds or longer — from shows and movies on Netflix, with the goal of introducing you to new content or helping you decide on what to watch. Image by Netflix You can advance to the next clip by selecting the rightmost arrow . Once you’ve opted into the feature (and if you’re part of the test), you can access Fast Laughs by scrolling down on the Netflix homepage until you reach the Fast Laughs row. From there, you can click into the feature, where full-screen clips from Army of the Dead , Big Mouth , Jerry Seinfeld ’s stand-up special,... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/YvE0GwZ

Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge Google says a fix is on the way for Pixel 6 owners who are dealing with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity issues after installing a security patch earlier this month, as reported by 9to5Google . In response to a user on Reddit , Google acknowledges the problem and says it’s bundling a fix in a March software update. “A software fix that will be available in the next Google Pixel Update” “After some investigation, we identified the root cause and determined that it impacts a very small number of devices,” Google says. “Of course, we realize this is a poor experience and immediately developed a software fix that will be available in the next Google Pixel Update, rolling out in March.” Google also says to contact its support team “to explore... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/tL65h8e

Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images Elon Musk is escalating his war of words with the Securities and Exchange Commission, accusing the agency of “leaking” information from a federal investigation in retaliation against him for his public criticisms. The accusation is contained in a new letter from Musk’s attorney Alex Spiro to US District Judge Alison Nathan, who oversaw the settlement between Musk and the SEC over his 2018 “funding secured” tweet that got him charged with securities fraud. It was the third letter in the past two weeks in a back-and-forth between Musk and the US government that shows little sign of abating. the third letter in the past two weeks In the most recent letter, Musk accuses the SEC of leaking information regarding a federal probe into his... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/ZzGphcy

Photo by Friso Gentsch/picture alliance via Getty Images The controversial proctoring platform Proctorio has filed a broad subpoena against the prominent digital rights nonprofit Fight for the Future as part of its legal battle with Miami University student Erik Johnson, in what the group describes as an effort to silence critics through legal maneuvering. The fight between Johnson and the company began in September of 2020 when the student published a lengthy Twitter thread criticizing Proctorio’s practices, including excerpts of the platform’s source code that he’d posted on PasteBin. Proctorio filed a copyright takedown notice. Three of the tweets were removed but later reinstated. The Electronic Frontier Foundation then sued Proctorio on Johnson’s behalf, arguing that the takedown had... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/EgT6tXR

Two weeks after dropping a controversial facial recognition plan, the IRS has given new details about how it plans to replace the system. In a statement on Monday , the agency confirmed that all users of the IRS.gov website will be able to opt out of biometric data collection, offering video interviews as an alternative for this year’s filers and promising a shift to the government-run authentication system Login.gov service in the future. “[A] new option in the agency’s authentication system is now available for taxpayers to sign up for IRS online accounts without the use of any biometric data, including facial recognition,” the statement said. “This is consistent with the IRS’s commitment earlier this month to transition away from the... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/STuw2vH

Part of a Chinese Long March 3C, shown here, is thought to be the piece of debris about to slam into the Moon in March. But China is casting doubt on that claim. | Image: STR/AFP via Getty Images China claims that a piece of distant space debris that’s about to slam into the Moon does not stem from one of the nation’s lunar missions, as astronomers tracking the object believe. However, it’s possible that China may have mixed up which mission the debris originally came from, as most evidence points to it being an old Chinese rocket. This doomed space object has received quite a lot of attention over the last few weeks, ever since an astronomer and space tracker by the name of Bill Gray first predicted that it would slam into the Moon on March 4th after years of orbiting the Earth. At first, Gray thought the object was a leftover chunk of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that launched a satellite for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts h

It will be going away this year. | Image: Bethesda Softworks Bethesda is retiring its Bethesda.net Launcher this year and will let people move their games and Wallet to Steam starting in early April, the company announced Tuesday. You’ll be able to access and play games on the Bethesda launcher until May. Any game you own on Bethesda’s launcher will be available for free on Steam. When you migrate to Steam, “you will not lose anything from your Bethesda.net account,” Bethesda says . “Many games will also have their saves migrated, with a few requiring some manual transfers. For games that require it, you will still use your Bethesda.net login to sign in to play.” However, Bethesda is only letting you migrate what’s on your Bethesda Launcher to Steam — you can’t use the switch as an opportunity to... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/k6n3ZBI

Amazon is tying two of its big gaming efforts, the Twitch streaming platform and its Luna cloud gaming service, a bit closer together. If you’re looking at a game’s page on Twitch and that game is available on Luna, you might now see a “Play on Luna” button that takes you to the title on the cloud gaming service ( via 9to5Google ). While the button could be a handy way to hop directly into an interesting game you found on Twitch, there are still a lot of limitations to Luna that make the process of just jumping in and playing a game harder than it should be. Screenshot by Jay Peters / The Verge We need more people playing Sonic Mania on Twitch. First of all, to see the button at all, it appears you need to be... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/fpGmZLE

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Instagram is discontinuing some app time limit options and encouraging users to update their settings, according to a report from TechCrunch . Originally, users were able to select a time limit as low as five minutes a day , while the new options begin at 30 minutes and go up to three hours. In screenshots sent to TechCrunch by an Instagram user who had previously set a 10-minute daily limit, a popup now appears at the top of their feed urging them to set a new daily limit value in accordance with an app update. Though the popup says the user can keep their existing limit if they want, clicking the edit button directs them to select a preset option, the lowest of which is 30 minutes. An additional popup on the activity page in the app says... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/Kg5C3QJ

First Final Fantasy XIV , now Lost Ark . | Image: Smilegate The free-to-play MMO Lost Ark has had a huge debut in the West, hitting the second-most concurrent players in Steam history just 24 hours after its February 11th release . Unfortunately, that popularity has meant that players in Europe have had to wait in long queues to play, though developer Smilegate and the game’s Western publisher, Amazon Games, are working to try and fix things. The long queues were an issue for the Europe Central server soon after launch , and the developers quickly promised to implement a new Europe West server to give players another place to play. While that Europe West server is now active, “the Europe Central region is at capacity and unfortunately there is no way to increase the number of players per world in... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/pQqi90s

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Crypto exchange FTX is launching a new team focused on driving cryptocurrency and non-fungible token (or NFT) adoption in the gaming world, according to a Bloomberg report . The initial offering from the new gaming unit will reportedly be a “crypto as a service” platform through which game publishers can launch tokens and provide support for in-game NFTs. “We are launching FTX Gaming because we see games as an exciting use case for crypto,” an FTX spokesperson told Bloomberg via email. “There are 2 billion+ gamers in the world who have played with and collected digital items, and can now also own them.” The new gaming-focused team from FTX is a sign of the continued push to bring blockchain-based products into the gaming space, as... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/5DEOavN

Anker continues to impress on value Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/tHIcT76

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Twitter might be testing an escape hatch for users who don’t want to be part of a thread. On Friday, writer and researcher Jane Manchun Wong tweeted an apparent screenshot of a new “leave this conversation” feature. As described in the screenshot, the feature would untag your username from a Twitter conversation, prevent people from mentioning you in the conversation again, and stop you from receiving notifications about it. (You can still see the thread.) The feature looks different from “mute this conversation,” an existing option that turns off notifications for a thread you’re mentioned in. According to a followup tweet , leaving the conversation will make your Twitter handle appear as plain text in the tweet where you’re mentioned,... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/0OruJ2f

Truth Social’s listing in the App Store. | Screenshot: Apple.com Truth Social, a social media network developed by former president Donald Trump’s new media company, is now live on the iOS App Store in the US . Reuters reports that the iOS app was available to download shortly before midnight, eastern time, prior to Presidents Day on February 21st. The service appears to be closely modeled on Twitter, which was previously Trump’s preferred social media platform. The former president was banned from the platform in early 2021 after Twitter said he was inciting violence in the wake of the storming of the US Capitol building . Image: Truth Social / App Store An image included on Truth Social’s App Store listing. As of this writing, Truth Social’s website is loading... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/jgXV6HI

Madbird claimed to be a buzzy London-based design agency. | Image: BBC News BBC News has just published an investigation into Madbird, a supposedly hip design agency led by a charismatic social media influencer called Ali Ayad. But while the company had dozens of real employees across the world, the BBC reports that much of its existence was faked, and used to lure real people into working for months for no pay in the hope of eventually making money after landing big projects. It’s a remarkable story, not least because of the lengths the company’s founder went to create the illusion of a buzzy and successful London-based design agency. Fake employees reportedly bulked out the company’s Zoom calls, and senior employees listed on the company’s website didn’t appear to work at Madbird at all. Even the photos the... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/D6Q4Xls

A live ring in action. | Screenshot: YouTube YouTube is adding a new indicator to show when a channel is live streaming on the platform, its chief product officer Neal Mohan has announced on Twitter . It consists of showing a ring with the word “Live” on it around a channel’s profile picture when they’re live streaming, which you can tap to jump straight into the live broadcast. The feature should make it easier to find currently live content as you browse YouTube. If the feature sounds familiar, it might be because it’s already used on a couple of other services. TikTok uses a similar pulsing ring effect on a channel’s profile picture if they’re live streaming when you scroll past their video in your feed. Instagram also shows a colorful ring around the profile pictures of live... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/IP0oQix

Image: Zens Zens is expanding its excellent alternative to Apple’s failed AirPower charger, the Liberty wireless charger , with a new model: the Liberty Built-in charger — which, as the name implies, is designed to be integrated directly into your desk itself for an even more streamlined look. The original Zens Liberty charger was released back in 2020 and offered an innovative 16-coil design that allowed you to simply place a Qi-compatible phone or device anywhere on the wireless charging pad instead of having to carefully align charging coils or rely on a MagSafe-style magnetic system. Image: Zens But the original model rather boringly sat on top of your desk, while the new Liberty Built-in charger is designed to be... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/b9imUSN

Capcom has announced Street Fighter 6 , the next major entry in the iconic fighting game franchise, which is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year. A brief teaser trailer was following the season final of the Capcom Pro Tour, where Kawano defeated veteran Daigo Umehara. The trailer doesn’t show any actual gameplay, but it suggests that Street Fighter 6 will have a more realistic art style than previous games in the series — at least, as realistic as you could expect while maintaining Ryu’s formidable proportions. Capcom says more information on the game will be coming this summer. Capcom will be hoping that Street Fighter 6 has a better launch than its predecessor. Street Fighter V looked and played great when it came out for PS4 and... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/rsuXcV7

Truth Social is expected to be available on February 21st. | Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images Former President Donald Trump’s social media app, Truth Social , is expected to make its debut on Presidents’ Day, according to a report from Reuters . In a test version of the app viewed by Reuters , the outlet saw a post from the network’s chief product officer (CPO) indicating the app’s February 21st launch. “By the end of March, we’re going to be fully operational” “We’re currently set for release in the Apple App store for Monday Feb. 21,” the executive — who goes by “Billy B” on Truth Social — reportedly said in response to a beta tester’s question about the app’s public release date. Truth Social has been open to “invited guests only” as early as December, with around 500 beta testers later gaining access to the network. Former... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/SLO0M6j

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Apple is reportedly gearing up to release several new Macs with an M2 chip later this year, according to Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman’s Power On newsletter . Gurman expects the company to debut a 13-inch MacBook Pro, Mac Mini, 24-inch iMac, and a redesigned MacBook Air, all outfitted with the rumored M2 chip. The M2 chip will be slightly faster than its predecessor Apple hasn’t offered any hints about the potential M2 chip, but Gurman thinks its CPU will be slightly faster than the M1’s, and that it will share the same eight-core architecture. Its graphics cores, however, may jump from seven or eight to nine or 10. Come 2023, Gurman thinks Apple may release Pro and Max versions of the M2 chip — just like it did for the M1 chip — as well... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/RoPHwQ0

Whistleblower Aid filed two new SEC complaints on behalf of Frances Haugen. | Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for TIME Facebook is the subject of two new Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) complaints filed by Whistleblower Aid, the nonprofit that represents Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, first reported by The Washington Post . The complaints accuse Facebook, now Meta, of misleading investors about its efforts to tackle misinformation about climate change and COVID-19. The complaint alleges a prominent presence of climate change misinformation The first complaint, obtained by The Washington Post , alleges the presence of readily available climate change misinformation on Facebook, making Facebook’s claims that it’s fighting climate denial fall flat. It also contains internal documents detailing employees’ own experiences with climate-related... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/hdRQ1g0

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge On Saturday, attackers stole hundreds of NFTs from OpenSea users, causing a late-night panic among the site’s broad user base. A spreadsheet compiled by the blockchain security service PeckShield counted 254 tokens stolen over the course of the attack, including tokens from Decentraland and Bored Ape Yacht Club. The bulk of the attacks took place between 5PM and 8PM ET, targeting 32 users in total. Molly White, who runs the blog Web3 is Going Great, estimated the value of the stolen tokens at more than $1.7 million . “They all have valid signatures” The attack appears to have exploited a flexibility in the Wyvern Protocol , the open-source standard underlying most NFT smart contracts, including those made on OpenSea. One explanation... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/vgxjYZy

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Barry McCarthy, Peloton’s new CEO, weighs an app store and new subscription model as potential ways to kickstart the company’s stagnant sales, as stated in an interview with the New York Times ’ DealBook . “It could be an open platform and part of the creator economy” McCarthy, who served as the former chief financial officer of Spotify and Netflix, says his vision for Peloton may include an app store open to third-party content. “Today, it’s a closed platform — but it could be an open platform and part of the creator economy,” McCarthy tells the NYT . “What other apps would you put on it? Could it be running an app store?” He also downplays the importance of hardware when it comes to Peloton’s fitness equipment. McCarthy suggests the most... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/1n4GVfE

The SEC has responded to Musk’s letter. | Photo by Patrick Pleul/picture alliance via Getty Images The Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) has responded to Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s claims that the agency has subjected him and his electric car company to “endless, unfounded investigations ,” first reported by the Wall Street Journal . In a letter to Judge Alison Nathan, the SEC refutes Musk’s allegations that it’s ignoring its commitment to distribute $40 million in fine money to Tesla shareholders, which Musk and Tesla had paid as part of a 2018 settlement. The SEC is still working on a plan to distribute $40 million to Tesla shareholders “Given the complexity of the distribution, it has taken time to develop the plan of allocation,” SEC official Steve Buchholz writes in the letter. “That process is nearing completion and, barring any... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/nALSpKG

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Epic Games is hiring its US-based contingent workers full-time and with benefits, Epic confirmed to The Verge . The Fortnite developer is extending the offer to quality assurance (QA) testers, as well as other “eligible” contract-based employees. The news first surfaced in an employee-facing memo obtained by The Verge . In the memo, the company writes it will “offer full-time at-will employment to eligible US-based contingent workers,” and that “many of those offers will be effective April 4th, 2022.” But it also notes that some workers won’t receive the offer, citing “there are a few exceptions in which it makes sense for both the worker and Epic to maintain contingent worker status.” “Most but not all” are quality assurance (QA) testers E... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/IklWvxr

Debuting only a week ago, Lost Ark has shot to the top of the Steam charts , amassing over 1 million concurrent players making it the most played game on Steam (based on number of concurrents) of all time. Developed by Smilegate RPG, Lost Ark is a Korean MMO that debuted there in 2018 before being localized in English and brought to the west via a partnership with Amazon Games. Though it’s only been around in the US and Europe for a short time, it has over 200,000 viewers on Twitch right now and has beaten games like Dota 2 , CS:GO , and PUBG in all-time number of concurrent players on Steam. So what the hell is a Lost Ark anyway? I spent a week investigating this new gaming hotness, eager to see if it has what it takes to become my newest... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/9T1YIZw